A native of Richmond, Virginia, Tenley Beazley also spent much of her childhood in the mountains of Colorado where she developed a deep appreciation of the wildflowers that paint the mountains in the summers.  Tenley studied Art History at Denison University and Richmond College (London, England campus) while taking as many fine art classes and workshops as she could both in and out of school.   After graduating from Northwestern University with a Master’s in Broadcast Journalism, Tenley continued her explorations of art materials and techniques while working in the fields of art/design and then advertising/communications.

 

Once landing back in Richmond, marrying her husband Wyatt, and buying their first house, Tenley discovered a new passion – gardening.  She began to see it as a way to not only bring her love of design and aesthetics outside her home, but also as a way to ‘paint’ her exterior surroundings – much the way she saw the wildflowers of Colorado painting the summer ski slopes!  On a whim, Tenley took a class at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Botanical Art and Illustration, opening her eyes to the wonderful details and nuances in nature.  She also discovered a way to marry her love of art and nature.  After three children and many commissions as a botanical artist, Tenley loved the discipline of realistically rendering elements of nature, but sought to loosen her style and broaden her creativity. 

 

Drawing on her years of art training, Tenley started combining various materials and techniques, layering and physically working with actual elements of nature as part of the process.  She found a distinctive style that allowed her to creatively interpret nature. 

 

With a passion for creating art as well as collecting art and supporting the thriving Richmond art community, Tenley also works as a consultant for the Reynolds Gallery; volunteers for various art institutions and organizations; and has a collaborative project ‘Art In Tune’ with award winning children’s musician Hope Harris – ‘Art In Tune’ is based on Hope’s CD ‘Picasso, That’s Who!’  Together they lead children on an interactive, creative, musical journey through the wonderful world of art.

 

“Art allows me to create, recreate, see for the first time, and see again for the first time.” - Tenley Beazley